VICTORIA – Passive House Canada and building industry members explore the latest developments in high-performance, energy-efficient buildings at the Passive House Deep Dive, October 31, at UBC’s Robson Square.

The one-day event focuses on current design and construction challenges, emerging solutions, and best practices in high-performance building standards.

The NAPHN17 conference wrapped up on Sunday after five days of workshops, seminars and project tours.

Amina Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary General of the UN addressed delegates via video, as did Michael Moller, the Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva. She announced plans for a global network of UN centres of building excellence, including the Vancouver Centre of Excellence. Scott Foster, Director of the Sustainable Energy Division of the UNECE provided the keynote address.

The Net Positive Symposium in Vancouver takes place October 30-31. Space is limited and we highly recommend you tickets now to avoid disappointment. The event is aimed at those familiar with Passive House design wanting an in-depth exploration of solutions to the challenges being encountered by today’s project teams. Speakers will present numerous case studies plus deep dives into ventilation, thermal bridging, air highness and mechanical issues.

The Fenestration Association of BC has launched a funding program to stimulate development of new designs and manufacturing processes that will lead to cost-effective, marketable, high-performance windows being built in British Columbia.

The costs associated with creating new product lines that exceed current BC energy-efficiency requirements, including lab testing and certification, are a barrier to the introduction of high-performance windows into the market. The High-Performance Window Certification program aims to overcome these market barriers.

Passive House Canada members who are developing innovative solutions to meet the high-performance building targets outlined in Build Smart: Canada’s Buildings Strategy may be eligible for federal clean energy innovation funding.

The recently released national buildings strategy for Canada puts architects, builders and suppliers who provide Passive House-related services and materials for construction at the leading edge of an emerging market transformation. Build Smart: Canada’s Buildings Strategy is a key driver of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and commits the provinces and their communities to dramatically improve performance and energy efficiency of new and existing building stock over the coming decades.

When Canada’s federal and provincial energy ministers approved a new buildings strategy for the country in St. Andrews, NB, they set the direction for Canada’s buildings for future decades. Build Smart: Canada’s Buildings Strategy is a comprehensive agreement that outlines the goals for Canada’s buildings, and is a significant step towards making high-performance buildings the standard in Canada.